Session Buddy has been the go-to answer for "how do I save my tab sessions?" for over a decade. After its major storage rewrite in 2024, some users reported empty session lists, and many started looking for a second option. Whatever your reason for switching, this is how to choose.
What to compare
- Auto-save. A manager that only saves when you click protects you from nothing.
- Tab group support. Do titles, colors and collapsed state come back on restore?
- Where your data lives. Local storage, cloud, or both?
- Limits. Caps on sessions, folders or synced items.
- Exporting. Can you get your data out in a standard format?
The options
Tab Session Manager. Free and open source, with scheduled auto-save and tab group support. A strong pick if you don't mind a plainer interface.
OneTab. One click collapses everything into a list. It's the simplest tool here, but restored tabs lose their groups, and you should export your list regularly.
Workona. Built around named workspaces and team sharing. Powerful, but the free plan limits workspaces and paid plans cost more than most solo users want.
Toby. A visual board on your new tab page. Pleasant to use, though the free tier has a saved-item cap and needs an account.
KeepIt. Closest in spirit to Session Buddy, with a few additions: Chrome tab group titles, colors and collapsed state are preserved, background snapshots run automatically, recently closed windows can be recovered, and sessions can be copied as Markdown. Local sessions are unlimited on the free plan, and cloud sync and sharing by username are optional.
Limits and prices change, so check each tool's page before committing.
Switching safely
- Export or copy your old sessions first. Don't uninstall until you've confirmed the data is somewhere else.
- Save a few test sessions in the new tool and restore them.
- Keep both installed for a week, then remove the old one.
Which should you pick?
Want free and open source: Tab Session Manager. Want team workspaces: Workona. Want something close to Session Buddy with groups preserved and unlimited local storage: KeepIt.